Container



Dec. 8,1942. I R. J. ECKART all? 2,304,681

CONTAINER Filed Nov. 7, 1939 Patented Dec. 8, 1942 CONTAINER Richard J. Eckart, Englewoo'd, N. 5., assignor to Sapolin Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application November 7, 1939, Serial No. 303,302

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to containers, and more particularly to a container for articles of merchandise intended to be displayed for sale.

Containers are now known in which a portion of the container is made of transparent material, I

'so that the contents may be seen without opening the container. The transparent portions of such containers usually consist of a relatively thin membrane which, in most cases, is more or less easily broken and is not waterproof or moistureproof. Such containers, furthermore, have not heretofore been adapted for use in connection with finely powdered materials, since the window containers referred to have usually comprised a rectangular structure having a Window in one or more of the rectangular panels, the ends being closed by flaps or other means not particularly adapted to retaining finely powdered materials.

In the sale of certain powdered materials, and

particularly of metallic powders designed to be combined with a liquid and used as paint, it is important that an extremely tight package or container be employed, in order that the finely powdered material may not sift out of the package through any crevice thereof. In addition, it is desirable that a transparent portion be provided, through which the contents of the container may be viewed.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide an economical, attractive and advantageous package for use in connection with finely powdered materials, and particularly metallic powders of the kind described. It is a further object to provide such a package, in which the transparent portion is adapted to receive and retain on its inner surface a thin layer of the powder contained within the package, so that the character of the powder is instantly ascertainable by a glance at the transparent portion of the package. This feature possesses the additional advantage that, especially in the case of metallic powders used for paint, the package is given a very attractive appearance by the adherence of a film of powder to the inner surface of the transparent portion, which gives the impression to the observer that the transparent portion of the package is made of a material resembling the powdered material within. Thus, in the case of a brilliant bronze powder having the appearance of gold, the transparent portion of the package, according to the present invention, will appear to be of bright gold color.

A further advantage of the container of the present invention is that while the transparent tion of the contents, namely thatportion which adheres to the inner surface of-the transparent portion, and thus enables an observer to instantly identify the contents, the transparent portion is nevertheless rendered substantially opaque when viewed externally. This has the advantage that the level of the contents within the container is not readily discernible. This is desirable for the reason that it is frequently convenient, for one reason or another, to employ a package having a volumetric capacity somewhat greater than the volume of the material enclosed which, in the case of an ordinary transparent package, tends to create an unfavorable impression upon a prospective purchaser.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the present invention, filled and ready for sale;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of an empty container with transparent closure removed; and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of a filled container with closure and label in place.

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made to the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and detailed descriptive language is employed. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the invention is thereby intended and that various changes and alterations are contemplated such as would ordinarily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

The container of the present invention, in its preferred form, comprises a cylindrical body 5 which may be of heavy paper construction, or of other suitable material. The upper end of the cylindrical body 5 is provided with a reduced portion 6 to receive a transparent cupshaped closure 1, while the lower end of the body 5 is closed by a bottom member 8, preferably of thin metal. The bottom member 8 may be suitably secured to the lower end of the body 5 by crimping as at 9.

The closure 1, according to the present invention, is transparent and preferably colorless, and may be molded from any suitable thermoplastic resin or similar material. For example, the cap may be molded of cellulose acetate or polystyrene materials. should of course be relatively non-breakable and The material selected for the closure quite transparent. After the powdered material has been charged into the container and the closure applied, a label I0 may be applied in such a manner as to cover the line of juncture of the closure and container, thus effectively sealing the package. However, the closure 1 should in any event be adapted to make a tight frictional seal with the container body so that the container may be tightly closed after it has once been opened.

It has been found that certain powdered materials, and particularly metallic powders which have been treated for use as paint, have a considerable afiinity for most surfaces, and that a thin layer of such powdered mate-rials will adhere quite firmly to the inner surface of the closure T when once the powder has been brought into contact with such surface. In the case of metallic powder of the type in question, this effect creates a most pleasing appearance, lending to the transparent closure 1 the appearance of being made of gold, silver, or the like, as the case may be. Furthermore, the adherence of a thin layer of powder to the inner surface of the closure renders the latter substantially opaque when viewed from the outside and, of course, serves to instantly identify the contents of the container.

Figure 3 illustrates a container charged with a metallic powder of the type in question, the level of the main body of powder being indicated at I I, and a thin layer of powder adhering to the inner surface of the closure 1 being indicated at [2.

It is obvious that the container need not be cylindrical, but may be of any suitable shape. Similarly, the transparent molded portion may be permanently attached to the container body, if desired, and a removable opaque closure provided elsewhere. Also, it will be apparent that the invention may be employed in connection with other than metallic powders.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A metallic paint powder package comprising an opaque container body, a charge of metallic paint powder therein, and. a generally cupshaped transparent colorless closure member detachably engaging and covering one end of said container body and carrying on its inner surface a thin layer of said powder, said layer being of such a character that said closure appears substantially opaque when viewed from the top or side, and appears to be made of material having the color of the enclosed powder.

RICHARD J. ECKART. 

